SMBM 08

Chapter : 08 

Shallow Jealousy

Woo-kyung walked over to Chae-kyung’s desk and set down the proposal she had submitted.

“Assistant Manager Min, your proposal passed the first round.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It was surprisingly fresh, enough to make us wonder if it even stood a chance. When the vice president was at headquarters, he formed a new team just like ours and pushed ahead with an advance project—it was a huge hit. They’re searching for projects that can lead Mote for the next ten years, so of course anything with rarity and vision stands out now.”

“I see. I was told to bring something new, but I never imagined mine would be chosen.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Manager Kang.”

Her lips curled up at the good news, but the next words froze her expression.

“They’ll be organizing an advisory group soon to flesh out the proposal. Looks like they’ll be visiting. The vice president will join the meeting as well, so look forward to it. Be well prepared.”

“Oh, the vice president too…”

Chae-kyung bit her lip.

It was natural—he was her direct superior—but being in the same room with him made her uncomfortable.

Her chest tightened, and her body instinctively cried out for caffeine. She headed to the break room.

Just then, he walked past with his secretarial staff, documents in hand. As they passed, she bowed her head. He stopped mid-stride and spoke softly to her.

“Congratulations, Assistant Manager Min. It’s your first project, so let’s do well.”

“Yes, Vice President Kang… thank you.”

His tone—thoughtful and considerate—made her feel even more ill at ease.

As she loaded a coffee capsule and stood spaced out, lost in thought, a shadow suddenly fell over her.

She turned her head on instinct—Kang Woo was standing close behind her.

Startled, she let go of her mug, but Kang Woo reflexively caught it. Their posture was practically a back hug, and her eyes widened.

“Pull yourself together. You always lose your wits when you see me.”

“Oh—no, that’s not…”

Trying to avoid him, she hastily shifted to the side, but he extended an arm, trapping her between himself and the counter. He set down the mug she’d nearly dropped and started the capsule machine.

His chest—only covered by a dress shirt—pressed against her back through her thin blouse, heat radiating straight into her.

She was too shocked to speak, shoulders shrinking in.

“I—I’ll do it myself.”

“At this rate, you won’t have a mug left to use. Just take it and drink.”

“If you need anything, please tell me. I’ll bring it to you.”

When she tried to flee, he stepped closer, closing the distance between her and the machine. She curled in on herself even more.

Still caging her in, Kang Woo calmly browsed the capsule options.

His leisurely movements only made her nerves stretch tighter and tighter.

Every time he leaned forward, his breath brushed the back of her neck—light, ticklish. Face flushing hot, she held her breath.

Terrified someone might walk in, she couldn’t move.

Her heart pounded violently, like something broken.

“With how many secretaries I have, you think I’d get Assistant Manager Min to do it? And anyway, my secretaries are busy at the moment. I can handle this much.”

She shriveled like dried squid. As though deliberately worsening her agony, Kang Woo casually inspected things around the break room.

She swallowed audibly.

Hearing that, he chuckled low near her ear. Not knowing how obvious her reaction was only made her anxiety—and anger at his teasing—grow.

“Please move.”

The cold tone carried frustration.

He acted as if he hadn’t heard, continuing what he was doing. Instead, he bent even lower, his breath now unmistakably grazing her skin.

She bit her lip. He was clearly doing this on purpose.

“Breathe.”

Enjoying the jolt of tension that ran through her, he finally placed the mug into her hand.

“I’ll move. Drink it.”

Then he casually opened the fridge beside them, grabbed a 500ml bottle of water, and walked out. As his heat receded, a chill swept over her and she shivered.

“…Ha…”

She released the breath she had been holding.

Clutching the mug he’d handed her, she bit her lip. The crema-topped coffee sloshed with her trembling hand.

The thought of having to work with him made her future at the company look bleak.

Day by day, she realized how unusual the team structure was. Unlike ordinary departments, this one worked directly under the vice president—meaning rank didn’t matter, and planners often worked alongside him personally.

She wanted desperately to avoid him, but running into him was inevitable.

Kang Woo’s secretary’s office came looking for her.

“Assistant Manager Min, congratulations on the proposal passing. I’ve been watching since headquarters—the vice president takes his first project in any branch very seriously. He’ll put every ounce of effort into making it a success.”

“Thank you. So there really is that much attention on this proposal…”

“The advisory meeting is this Thursday. You’re aware, I’m sure? The vice president is extremely thorough—please do your best.”

“Yes.”

From immaculate clothes to immaculate beauty—she looked every bit like someone hired just to reflect Kang Woo’s image. Smiling brightly, she congratulated Chae-kyung. He had brought the exact same secretarial team from HQ to Korea. He took care of his people meticulously.

No way… right?

The more she heard from people around her, the more suspicious she grew about why her proposal had been selected.

Meticulous as she was about work, she would be furious if his “favor” had tilted the decision.

And since he had been making things difficult for her lately, her imagination ran farther ahead.

It had been an unusually exhausting day for Kang Woo. Since transferring to the Korea office, more things demanded his attention than ever. And then—Min Chae-kyung…

He tried not to think about her, but whenever he got a moment’s pause from the chaos, her image intruded.

Passing a conference room, he heard a familiar voice.

Through the frosted glass panels, he could see a silhouette he instantly recognized—together with a man.

He frowned, focusing. Once he confirmed it was Chae-kyung, the presence of the unfamiliar man beside her felt wrong.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to end the day in peace unless he checked.

He pivoted away from the elevators and headed for the conference room.

“Vice President, where are you—”

Chief Shin hurried behind him, flustered, but was ignored.

“What’s going on here?”

Kang Woo had already opened the door. Inside, the two stood close, heads bent together over documents. Even if it was work, did they really need to be that close? The thought irritated him.

Startled, the pair bowed immediately.

“Good afternoon, Vice President.”

He ignored Jung-seok’s friendly greeting and walked straight to Chae-kyung.

Snatching the briefing materials from her hands, he flipped through them with visible annoyance.

The quality wasn’t the issue. The fact that Assistant Manager Chu Jung-seok was helping her was.

His irritation sparked outward.

“Assistant Manager Min. This proposal is yours, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then why is… Chu Jung-seok? Is that it? Why is he working on it with you?”

He didn’t even seem to remember the man’s name properly, shooting him a cold glance.

“I asked him to help with the statistical portion needed for the advisory briefing. Assistant Manager Chu majored in statistics.”

He had asked Jung-seok, but Chae-kyung answered, calmly shielding her colleague. Understandable—and it only stoked Kang Woo’s annoyance further.

“I said I’d help since I’m confident with statistical analysis,” Jung-seok added. “I heard the deadline was tight. We’re a team—shouldn’t we help each other?”

Kang Woo raised a brow, not liking how they backed each other up.

His sharp mood came out not as praise, but as complaint.

“So Assistant Manager Chu has a lot of free time, is that it? I guess I underestimated the Strategic Planning Team.”

“…Sir?”

He drove the point in, directing it at the stunned Jung-seok.

“Since you seem to have energy left after your assigned work, helping someone else—”

Jung-seok tried to respond.

“Well, it’s just—”

Kang Woo cut him off, eyes gleaming.

“I’ll make sure you get more chances to demonstrate that talent.”

The warning sounded polite—but hit like ice.

Unable to say anything, Jung-seok swallowed hard.

Chae-kyung glanced at him apologetically. Catching that, Kang Woo sat down heavily.

Their confused looks didn’t matter.

He had zero intention of leaving the room to the two of them.

“Chief Shin, sit too. This project is important, right? You should know how it’s progressing.”

Reluctantly, Chief Shin sat beside him.

Even he looked startled—Kang Woo never wasted time like this.

“Let’s hear what you’ve got so far. And we’ll see Assistant Manager Chu’s skills too.”

Watching Jung-seok pale was unexpectedly satisfying.

Kang Woo turned his attention to Chae-kyung.

She looked flustered as well—but steadied herself and began explaining.

He didn’t look at the projected slides. He watched her.

Fascinating.

From their first meeting, she’d unsettled him strangely. Every time he faced her, he got more mischievous.

For some reason, he kept wanting to trip her up, to corner her.

Like he was getting addicted—to the woman who made his normally sharp, disciplined demeanor turn childish.

When she finished, he offered feedback—sharp and professional despite everything.

After the briefing, Chae-kyung cautiously spoke.

“Vice President, I have something I’d like to ask. Could we speak privately?”

“All right. You two—go. Get back to work.”

Jung-seok and Chief Shin left the room.

Lounging back with legs crossed, Kang Woo stared at Chae-kyung, curious what she’d say.

She remained standing.

“Vice President,” she said, “I want to know if my proposal was chosen for reasons related to our personal matter.”

“…What did you just say?”

“I’m questioning whether it was selected because of something personal between us.”

“‘Questioning,’ you say?”

His once-soft expression hardened instantly.